UPDATE 1-Jabil to cut jobs, forecasts core earnings below estimates

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

* Sees 4th-quarter core earnings of $0.50-$0.58/share

* Analysts expect core earnings of $0.59/share

* Shares down 1 percent after market

June 19 (Reuters) - Contract electronics maker Jabil Circuit Inc forecast current-quarter core earnings below analysts’ estimates and said it planned to cut an unspecified number of jobs as part of a restructuring plan.

Jabil said it expected to book about $188 million in restructuring charges over the next three years, of which $60 million to $70 million will be in the current quarter.

The company, which did not specify the location of the job cuts, said on a conference call with analysts that the timing of the headcount reduction is subject to consultation with its employees.

Jabil has about 141,000 employees as of Aug. 31, 2012, according to a regulatory filing.

The company counts Apple Inc, Cisco Systems , General Electric Co, Hewlett-Packard, IBM Corp, NetApp Inc and BlackBerry among its top customers.

Jabil forecast core earnings of 50-58 cents per share for the current quarter, below the average analyst estimate of 59 cents.

The company said it expected revenue in the range of $4.45 billion to $4.65 billion.

Analysts on average were expecting revenue of $4.59 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company said it expected to take a $10 million charge in the current quarter related to its acquisition of Nypro Inc, a maker of precision plastic products.

Jabil said in February it would buy Nypro for about $665 million to add to its consumer electronics, healthcare and consumer packaging businesses.

Jabil’s net income fell to $49.6 million, or 24 cents per share, in the third quarter, from $101.6 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier. The company’s core earnings were 56 cents per share.

The company said it took a charge of $28 million related to its restructuring.

Revenue rose about 5 percent to $4.47 billion.

Analysts had expected earnings of 54 cents per share on revenue of $4.40 billion.

Shares of the St. Petersburg, Florida-based company were down 1 percent in extended trading after closing at $19.82 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.